Why is my 3” Strut Spacer Lift Kit not 3” thick?

We get this question probably 2-3 times a day so we thought it deserved a good explanation in the simplest way possible: Magic.

If that answer isn’t good enough for you then we can dive deeper into the engineering of why lift kits with strut spacers do not require a full 3” in thickness in order to achieve a 3” lift. To do this, please refer to the diagram for this blog post.

In the box that says 1:2 ratio, there is a black line and a red line. The black line represents the before position of your lower control arm and the red line represents the picture of your lower control arm after a strut spacer lift kit is installed. The 2 sets of blue dotted lines are to help you visually understand how the strut spacer acts as a pivot to provide a greater lift than the actual thickness of the spacer.

As you can see, the blue dotted line further to the right is shorter than the blue dotted line to the left. The shorter blue dotted line represents the amount the strut assembly is pushing down on the midpoint of the lower control arm (with the strut spacer installed). The longer blue dotted line represents the amount that the end of the lower control arm is dropped due to the spacing at the mid point.

The placement of the lower control arm is what determines your ride height. The steeper the angle, the higher the lift. So based on this simple concept, you are able lift your truck with a strut spacer that is sometimes half that thickness of the actual lift height. The number isn’t the same on all trucks though, depending on the length of the lower control and where the lower strut mount is located, the spacer thickness can vary greatly. That’s why we specifically engineer each kit to the advertised lift height.

Strut spacers come with both benefits and disadvantages though. That is why the highest lift we recommend for most trucks is 3” using a strut spacer.

If we don’t offer it, then we don’t recommend it. Some companies offering outrageous strut spacer lifts don’t understand this and have caused thousands of dollars in repairs, and in some cases, injuries due to suspension malfunctions.

We believe in an educated customer and are happy to answer all questions to get you into the right lift for your lifestyle and budget.